If you haven't been keeping up with the 2016 Summer Olympics or you've simply been living under a rock, you've missed some amazing things so far! From Michael Phelps winning even more gold medals shocking the world to The Last Five crushing competition in every single event, this has been quite a year thus far for the United States of America. Talk about national pride; we have a hell of a lot to be proud of.
We all have our favorite sports to watch at the Olympics. My favorites would have to be Women's Soccer and Women's Gymnastics. While I've played soccer my whole life and love the excitement of every match, I have an obsession with watching the power of gymnastics. It has been this way since the 2008 Beijing Olympics. There are always soccer games on TV, but it is rare to see gymnastics intrigue the world to the extreme that it does come the Olympics. Never in my wildest dreams could I ever imagine doing anything that these incredible gymnasts achieve throughout competition. It has me glued to the television screen cheering them on and watching them shock the world. I'm constantly saying to myself, "WTF, how did she just do that?" or "I wish I was that flexible." The things these athletes do are just remarkable!
This year, we have two veterans as well as a few fresh faces that make up our team. Aly Raisman and Gabby Douglas have defeated the odds in returning to the Olympic competition scene after winning "Team Gold" in the 2012 London Olympics. Simone Biles, Madison Kocian, and the youngest phenom Laurie Hernandez round out the rest of the bunch; each of these ladies bring some great strengths to the team! Simone Biles proves to be unstoppable all-around. Leading up to the 2016 Rio Olympics, we were all speculating whether this NEW team would be able to memorize the world again just like the Fab 5 did four years prior.
Simone Biles
Age: 19
Hometown: Spring, TX
Nickname: "$imoney"
Favorite Event: Floor
Alexandra Raisman
Age: 22
Hometown: Needham, MA
Nickname: "Aly"
Favorite Event: Floor
Gabrielle Douglas
Age: 20
Hometown: Virginia Beach, VA
Nickname: "Gabby"
Favorite Event: Floor & Beam
Laurie Hernandez
Age: 16
Hometown: Old Bridge, NJ
Nickname: "Lolo"
Favorite Event: Floor
Madison Kocian
Age: 19
Hometown: Dallas, TX
Nickname: "Madi"
Favorite Event: Bars
To our amazement, they surpassed our expectations squashing the competition by numbers that were unheard of in the gymnastics world! When Russia and China were once the gymnastic powerhouses, always the stiffest competition for the United States, we have continued to leave those teams in the dust so far. The qualification round for the Individual All-Around competition left Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, and Gabby Douglas in the first three spots. However, due to regulation, only two members from each nation are aloud to qualify for the medal round. Douglas being off by a few tenths of a point proved to not be enough. Now, in my opinion, this just doesn't seem fair; if you're one of the best, you should be aloud to compete for a medal no matter what your other teammates do. While the rest of the world were brokenhearted for Douglas, she couldn't be happier for her teammates. Now that's a world class athlete!
A few nights later, the USA team competed for the "Team Gold" and proved their dominance with flying colors. They didn't defeat the competition and win gold by tenths of a point like in London, but crushed by 8 points. That just doesn't happen in the gymnastics realm. By this point, our country knew this team was unstoppable!
Simone Biles and Aly Raisman were definitely the favorites leading up to the Individual All-Around competition with the entire nation cheering them on. As expected, Biles proved her dominance in every event leaving very little room for a comeback from anyone, including her counterpart Aly Raisman. Throwback to 2012 London Olympics: Raisman was barely knocked off the podium, missing a Bronze medal by less than a point. That will not sit well with any true competitor. This was definitely her redemption year. At the end of competition, both Americans exceeded expectations once again, ending up as Gold and Silver medalists. If I'm correct, this was the first time in history that the United States had two competitors in first and second place!
This team not only out shined our expectations and competition, but fascinated a nation once again. I think you could even say that they are the best United States Gymnastics Team we have ever seen. In just a few days, all five members of The Last Five will fight for glory in their individual events. They are sure to charm the judges and the world for another night. I cannot wait!
You may never completely understand gymnastics, but thanks to these spectacular athletes, we have gained an appreciation for the beautiful sport. There is not one sport that can be described as fierce, fabulous and fearless all in one. It takes gut to perform these routines and look good doing it. There is grit and grind put in by every single athlete to get to the highest level, and gymnastics requires that and then some. The hard work and dedication that each of these women have put into becoming the Olympians they are today is quite extraordinary. This may be a once in a lifetime kind of team, but I am so excited to see what they do in the future! You should be, too.
